Red Sundown (1956) is a better-than-average Universal Western (of course, they’re all worth seeking out). Much of what sets this picture apart is the direction of Jack Arnold, a master of medium-budget, contract film-making. But it’s pretty inventive across the board, as this sequence (one of my favorites in all of 50s Westerns) makes clear.
Gunslingers Alec Longmire (Rory Calhoun) and Bud Purvis (James Millican) are on the run from a posse (led by Leo Gordon) after Alec shoots a ranch hand in self defense. They take refuge in a small cabin and are quickly surrounded. Buck tells Alec how he’d like to hang up his guns and settle down.
It’s not long before the shooting starts and Bud is gut shot. Then the ranch hands decide to burn the gunfighters out. Bud comes up with a plan to save Alec’s life.
Bud helps Alec bury himself in a shallow trench in the cabin’s dirt floor, using the stovepipe for air. Alec reluctantly agrees to the plan, and Bud makes him promise that if he survives, he’ll quit living by his guns.
With Alec concealed and the cabin an inferno, Bud runs outside and is gunned down. Once the fire dies down, the ranchers assume Alec has burned to death and ride away. Alex does indeed try to hang up his guns — but we all know how hard that is.
Briskly directed by Arnold, you never get a chance to think about how implausible it all is. A very memorable sequence — pulled directly from its source novel, Back Trail by Lewis B. Patten.
This is one of Rory Calhoun’s best, along with “Dawn At Socorro”. I always appreciated his gun rig in this which he also wore in “Utah Blaine” – was it his own idea?
I agree one of Rory’s best and as always you can never go wrong with any of his westerns
RED SUNDOWN is due out from Sidonis in France on March 20th.
If you can live with the “forced” French subtitles on the English
language version (or know a clever person who can get rid of them
with their computer) it should be a good looking remastered transfer.
This marks the films Worldwide DVD debut.
Watched another of Rorys Westerns the other night;THE DOMINO
KID a very slow 73 minutes but interesting for its somewhat “arty”
direction and very creative camerawork.Another Rory/Ray Nazzaro
epic THE HIRED GUN is high on my wants list;great supporting cast
and black & white scope too!A rare Fifties B Western from MGM.
I would like to know how Jack Arnolds MAN FROM BITTER RIDGE
stands up now;I have pretty distant fond memories of it.
This is the sort of film I hope Universal will dig up in their “rareites”
section during their 100th Anniversary releases.
John, I’ve never seen this one but just to offer a correction. The movie has been released on DVD in Germany by Koch (should be a good transfer then) in a Jack Arnold boxset – http://www.amazon.de/Jack-Arnold-Western-Collection-DVDs/dp/B0012CF8VQ/ref=sr_1_16?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1327619396&sr=1-16
I never bought it as I already had two of the movies, and I kept hoping it might get a stand alone release.
I love RED SUNDOWN and it was nice to read this. The sequence you write about is the high point of the film for me–though what follows is by no means a let down; it’s a thoughly satisfying Western to the end. The tripling (not just doubling) of the hero Alec by way of the oldest, Buck, and the young killer Chet Swan (Grant Williams) who balances Buck with his late film appearance works especially well.
I don’t know how many people know that Buck was James Millican’s final role and that he died of cancer before the film’s release. Perhaps he knew he was ill and this leant extra intensity to his wonderful interpretation of the character, but in any event I’m convinced this was his finest performance–he is so memorable in this fabulous movie.
John K., I’m not sure I’ve seen MAN FROM BITTER RIDGE without a few cuts in it or with good color, but although it’s good enough, I have a feeling even in a pristine print it wouldn’t be as interesting as Arnold’s other two U-I Westerns, this one and of course NO NAME ON THE BULLET.
I had no idea this was Millican’s last film. That really adds a lot.
You’re right that bringing in Grant Williams (who’s terrific) puts a nice spin on the whole Gunfighter/Man Of The West angle.
Watching Red Sundown, you can really feel that something special was going on with this one. I think Quantez has the same vibe.
Blake, I was wondering how long it’d take you to chime in on this one — since you seem to love this picture as much as I do.
Colin;whoops I totally forgot about the Koch Arnold collection!
Like you I never went for it because I already had the other two
films.Had it included MAN FROM BITTER RIDGE I would have
went for it.
The thing I really liked about RED SUNDOWN is that Rory Calhoun
has to face a final showdown with a gunslinger that he knows is
faster than he is.Rory faced the same situation in the excellent;
unheralded POWDER RIVER.This little gem is a reworking of
FRONTIER MARSHALL/MY DARLING CLEMINTINE.
Cameron Mitchell is outstanding as the lightning fast gun with a brain
tumour.The Spanish DVD released a few years back is well worth
tracking down;its a lovely transfer.
Another Rory/James Millican starrer,sadly not on DVD is the underrated
SILVER WHIP.This is the sort of film that makes me wish Fox had
an MOD series!
Coming back to RED SUNDOWN what about that scene where nasty
Grant Williams smashes up the old folks prized dinner plates.
Jack Arnold also directed several RAWHIDE episodes including one real
classic starring Dean Martin as a vengeful gunslinger!
I saw that Dean Martin Rawhide “Canliss” recently, it was from the 7th season. I remember when seeing it, how it was shot so much like a classic western movie. in fact it was almost like a cliche of what a classic western is. It was one of the most unusual and best of the Rawhide series. They did several episodes early in this particular season that were quite remarkable and unlike the rest of the series, they were each one shot just like a classic western movie. The last part of the season they went back to more standard type Rawhide stories. Even the backgroud music was great, the camera angles, everything, just a great 1/2 of a season of unusual Rawhides in Season 7.